The Lost Starship (29 page)

In his helmet,
Keith grinned. He glided over a ridge and saw a red flare out there. It was time to go to work.

He reached Meta with her jackhammer.
She was almost indistinguishable in her silver vacc-suit. She’d made a huge hole already. Frozen down at the bottom was supposed to be Professor Ludendorff’s cache: engines and fuel.

They had short-speaker
s between them to communicate. He hailed her. She lifted a gloved hand to acknowledge him. Afterward, she pointed at the second item, a spacetorch.

Keith went to it
, clicking it on. In seconds, he had a hot tongue of flame on the end. He put the blue flame against the ice, burning it away. He helped her uncover the cache. The
Saint Petersburg
was coming fast. He didn’t see how they could possibly make the comet-sheath ready in time.

One more drink for old time’s sake. The captain can’t deny that if we’re about to die because we couldn’t push our lead far enough. I tried. The least I c
an do is go out with style
.

Yes, he’d have to start looking for the bottles. The captain was cunning, but Keith bet he could beat him if they both piloted strikefighters. The captain might know how to hide whiskey, but Keith trusted his nose and instincts. Of course, he didn’t want to let the crew down, but the nearing destroyer—didn’t that change the equation?

Bloody yes it does
.

Meta raised her head. “What was that?” she asked.
The words crackled over his headphones.

“Down there, love,” he said, pointing. “Do you want me to start there?”

She considered it and finally nodded, and the work continued.

***

Two days later, the destroyer began to slow its tremendous velocity. The
Saint Petersburg
neared the massive T dwarf. At its speed, it would soon reach back here among the comet cloud.

Meta and Keith had sent up passive sensors on the
star-side of the comet, linking it by cables to the “hidden”
Geronimo
. The scout rested on the other side of the comet as the approaching
Saint Petersburg
.

As the ensign sat in the control room, he watched Valerie’s view-screen. The destroyer was easily visible with its intense burn.

“Why are they slowing near the planet?” Valerie asked.

The two of them were alone in the control room.

“They don’t want to enter the next Laumer-Point the way we have,” Keith said. “It’s not considered safe going through a jump point too fast.”

Valerie looked up at him.

“Did I say something wrong?” he asked.

“I know the procedures,” she said. “I’m the one who’s been suggesting we take a more cautious approach through the tramlines.”

“Right you are,” he said. “I’m just nervous, love, talking too much. That destroyer—do you think it can sniff us out?”

She
’d returned to studying her screen. “I don’t like this waiting game any more than you do.”

Keith made a soft sound. More than ever, he wanted a drink. Waiting was the worst.
“There’s no reason they should know we’re hiding back here,” he said.

“There’s no way they should have been able to follow us this far
into the Beyond either,” Valerie said. “Yet, they have.”

“Do you think the
re’s an emitter aboard we haven’t been able to find? Do you think it’s been helping them track us?”

“No,” Valerie said. “We’ve gone through the ship too many times. If there were an emitter, we would have found it by now.”

They waited and watched the destroyer slow down enough to lock into the T dwarf’s orbit. The day passed as
Saint Petersburg
circled the brown dwarf twice, their sensors washing the system with electronics. Finally, the destroyer escaped the planet’s orbit and headed for the unstable Laumer-Point beyond the comet.

In the control room,
Keith kept watch with Valerie and sometimes with Maddox or Sergeant Riker. The crew endured.

“Maybe they’
ll go through the wormhole for us,” Keith said.

Captain Maddox was in the control room. He didn’t say a word.

Later, Keith stood in the corridor, trying to psyche himself up to go into the captain’s quarters. He told himself that he no longer needed the drink. It had become the principle of the thing. Finally, he stalked off to his quarters to play another game of Solitaire.

T
he destroyer finally reached the unstable Laumer-Point, nosing around the area. After several hours, the
Saint Petersburg
accelerated, heading back toward the T dwarf.

The destroyer passed their comet by two hundred thousand kilometers.
Keith felt as if he stopped breathing. The enemy ship didn’t decelerate nor did it fire its lasers at them. The destroyer kept a steady velocity as it neared the T dwarf. Then, its exhaust tail lengthened as
Saint Petersburg
accelerated back toward the distant star over four billion kilometers away. The other Laumer-Point was there in the inner system.

As tensions eased
throughout the scout, Captain Maddox called a meeting. Dana was still laid out in medical. She was the only one to miss the get-together.

Keith sat down in the wardroom. Meta, Valerie, Sergeant Riker and the captain all entered, taking their places.

Keith kept thinking about those bottles of beautiful Scotch. They had to be in the captain’s quarters. Given Maddox’s methods and distrust, it would be difficult to break in and search—difficult and possibly dangerous. That had helped to dampen the thirst for a time. Now it had returned stronger than ever. Keith debated pleading illness, leaving the meeting and then hurrying to the man’s room.

If they found him, though, how could he live with himself? He had some of his old pride again. He’d saved the team more than once. To throw that all away—
I wish I could get drunk in secret. Then I could come back better than ever. I’m due for a drink. It’s killing me to say sober
.

Captain Maddox cleared his throat.

Keith decided to worry about whiskey later. He didn’t like the captain’s rigid features. Ever since Dana’s attempted mutiny, Maddox had seemed tenser than ever. Even his skin seem to stretch tighter across his cheekbones.

The waiting is getting to him just like the rest of us
. I guess he’s human after all
.

“
It’s time to make a decision,” Maddox said. “I’m uncertain about the correct choice. The destroyer’s latest behavior troubles me.”

“This is different
for you,” Valerie said.

“How so?” asked Maddox.

“You usually just snap out orders without explaining the situation.”

Keith watched Maddox. The captain’s skin tightened a little more
for a moment. Then he smiled. It was an infectious thing. The man was part highhandedness and part mischievous prankster. So far, his extreme effectiveness had carried him through whatever trouble the captain managed to bring upon himself.

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said. “I have a confession to make.”

Keith felt it. Everyone perked up. What was the captain going to tell them?

“I am a spy by trade,” Maddox said. “Commanding a starship is new. I’ve been learning the
craft as I go. I’ve felt lately that I should trust my crew more. That doesn’t come easily. It’s my nature and training to distrust. I must thank you for bearing with me.”

Valerie laughed. “Well
, I’ll be, sir. Yes, thank you.”

Keith got it. That was the best apology any of them were going to get for some of the man’s
imperious actions throughout the past months. Lieutenant Noonan had recognized it was an apology. At that moment, Keith had what he considered as an unworthy thought. Had Maddox just said those things because he meant them, or had the man said them to help put the lieutenant at ease?

“In any case,” Maddox said, “the point of the meeting is the
Saint Petersburg’s
latest actions. I’m referring to its orbit around the T dwarf and its slow approach and time spent at the unstable Laumer-Point. Why didn’t the destroyer jump through the point into the next system to see if we were there?”

“That would have solved
our problems,” Valerie said.

“Nothing is going to be easy,” Maddox said.
“We must remember that.”

“I have an idea,” Meta said, “about the destroyer
, I mean.”

“
We’re listening,” Maddox told her.

“They must be able to
directly trail our passage,” Meta said. “Maybe they sense our exhaust particles even after we’ve passed through an area.”

“I’ve wondered the same thing,” Valerie
said. “But if you’re right about that, they would have trailed us to the comet.”

“Not necessarily,” Keith said. “We used the gravity generator at
the end. It doesn’t leave particles to trace.”

Valerie tap
ped her head with the flat of her hand. “That’s right. But I have a different theory. Instead of tracking, I wonder if they have a device that can tell if a Laumer-Point has just been opened or not.”

“Ah,” Maddox said. “That might explain their behavior.
If that’s true, they’ll know we entered the star system, and that we haven’t left yet.”

“If the destroyer jumps elsewhere
from the inner system tramline,” Valerie said, “that will trash the theory. But if they stay in this star system—they’ll soon be out here again hunting for us.”

Maddox scanned the others
’ faces. “It’s time to bury the
Geronimo
.”

“The destroyer might spot
us doing that,” Valerie said.

“They’re
returning to the inner system,” Maddox said. “Now is the time to make a cave. Afterward, we seal up and make a run for it.”

“We’ll be
crawling with the comet surrounding us,” Valerie said.

“I know,” the captain said. “But I’m convinced this is our last opportunity.
If anyone has a different suggestion, now is the time to make it.”

Keith swallowed
with a parched throat. He desperately wanted a drink. He wanted to make an excuse, leave and ransack the captain’s quarters. They owed him. Yet…he also wanted to stay sober. The abyss of drunkenness was real, and he wanted to stay far away from it.

Feeling worthless and dirty, the ensign raised a hand.

“Yes?” asked Maddox.

“Sir,” Keith whispered
, knowing he had to confess. “I want a drink so badly I’m ready to do anything for it. I stopped taking the pills some time ago.”

The wardroom turned silent.

Maddox eyed him. Keith hated the look. He felt like dirt, knowing he’d let them down. Finally, the captain stood. “Come with me, Ensign.”

Feeling like a whipped cur, with his gaze downcast, Keith followed the captain. The man headed straight for his quarters. Shuffling his feet, Keith entered the Spartan room.

Maddox went to a drawer and pulled it open. He picked up a bottle of Scotch, pried out the cork and brought it to a small table. With a clunk, Maddox set the bottle onto the surface.

“Come here, Ensign, have a drink, if you wish.”

Keith swallowed and shuffled nearer. The desire for drink pulsated through him. Why was the captain doing this? Did Maddox wish to humiliate him even more? Did it matter why the man did what he did? Keith reached for the bottle, expecting Maddox to swat his hand away. The captain did no such thing. The man watched coldly.

Trembling with desire, r
aising the bottle to his lips, Keith could smell the beautiful whiskey. He expected a last warning. It never came.

With a cry of
horror, Keith lifted the bottle above his head and hurled it down. The thing smashed against the deck. Glass flew everywhere and Scotch rained.

“No,” Keith said,
hanging his head. “I can’t drink. I want to, sir. You have no idea how much. But I can’t let any of you down.”

When no words came, Keith looked up. Maddox
still watched him, but it was no longer with cold indifference. The captain put a hand on Keith’s shoulder and patted it twice.

“I’m proud of you, Ensign.
Now tell me. What should I do with the other bottles?”

“Pour them down the disposal unit, sir,” Keith said in a thick voice. “Please, get rid of them. I-I want to remain
on your team.”

Maddox smiled
with approval in his eyes. “Come,” he said. “Let’s finish our briefing. With a man like you in my crew, we’re either going to beat the New Men, or they’re going to know they’ve been in the fight of their lives.”

Keith
squared his shoulders. “Yes, sir, Captain, sir,” he said, saluting crisply.